Britain's 20th coronavirus case is first to contract infection on UK soil: Man treated at clinic in Surrey closed for 'deep cleaning' is moved to London hospital as a Briton on quarantined cruise ship dies

The UK's 20th coronavirus case has tonight been confirmed and is the first time a patient has caught the infection on British soil, marking a 'new chapter' in the country's spiralling health crisis.

The patient, from Surrey, is understood to be a man who was treated at Haslemere Health Centre before being transferred to Guy's and St Thomas' hospital in London.  

He contracted the illness in England from an unknown spreader - who authorities are racing to track down to avoid them contaminating more people.

It is not known whether this spreader had arrived in the country from abroad, where many countries including Italy, South Korea, Japan and Iran are firefighting major outbreaks.

Tonight's 20th confirmed diagnosis came after a flurry of cases sprouted up in the UK within 24 hours, including in Northern Ireland and Wales. 

One of these cases is also believed to be from Surrey, having flown to the UK from virus-hit Milan, putting the southern county at the heart of Britain's growing outbreak.

Haslemere Health Centre was closed on Friday, with a statement on its website saying: 'The surgery is temporarily closed today to enable a clean of the surgery as a routine precautionary measure.' 

Nobody in the UK has so far died from coronavirus, but today a British man quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship passed away in Japan. This first British fatality is understood to be a man in his 70s who did not live in the UK. 

Boris Johnson today broke his silence on the global health crisis and insisted preventing a major British outbreak was the government's 'top priority'. 

After being branded a 'part-time prime minister' for his slow response, he reassured the public that he had held meetings with the health secretary and chief medical officer, who tonight broke the news of the country's 20th case. 

Professor Chris Whitty said in a statement: 'One further patient in England has tested positive for COVID-19.

'The virus was passed on in the UK. It is not yet clear whether they contracted it directly or indirectly from an individual who had recently returned from abroad. 

'This is being investigated and contact tracing has begun. The patient has been transferred to a specialist NHS infection centre at Guy's and St Thomas'.

'The total number of cases in England is now 18. Following confirmed cases in Northern Ireland and Wales, the total number of UK cases is 20.'

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The UK's 20th coronavirus patient has been confirmed, marking the first case to have caught the infection on British soil

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The patient, from Surrey, is understood to be a man treated at Haslemere Health Centre before being transferred to Guy's and St Thomas' hospital in London

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They contracted the illness in England before being rushed for treatment at Guy's and St Thomas' hospital in London, the chief medical officer revealed tonight

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A British man who was on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship (pictured in Yokohama) has died after being infected with coronavirus, Japanese authorities confirmed today. He was the first Briton to die in the crisis

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A woman wearing a face mask on a bus in London, where at the capital's flagship hospital the UK's 20th case is being treated